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Fucking hell, this guy was hardcore, the real deal. He sounded merciless. But nine grand? We wouldn't get it until we got home, only the spending money, but that was a serious amount of cash to us: it could be life changing. That was tempting enough, but then Luke delivered the killer blow: 'On top of that, we will cover all of your expenses once you're out there,' he said. 'You'll get £1,500 each to blow. All your holiday will be paid for. Flights, hotels, everything. We'll even sort out all the tickets.' He smiled, all relaxed. 'Spend it on what you want – live a bit, get a tan. That kind of dosh will go a long way out there, lads. Hire a yacht, drink champagne, shag some prozzies, do whatever you want. You'll live like kings!'

That was it. Ker-ching, get in! We felt like we'd won the Lottery. It could be you? It fucking was! We were both totally sold on the idea now. The idea of prison didn't ever seriously enter our minds; we were totally sure it was all pre-arranged and sorted. And so, despite all the risks, and the threats to our lives, we were overcome by a tidal wave of greed. We put any worries to the backs of our minds and said yes.

Luke told us the Russian was keen to get us out there as quickly as possible. But we didn't even have passports.

This didn't seem to be a problem for the Russian. 'I want to move fast on this,' he said. 'Can you go today? But remember, once you're in, there can be no turning back.'